Back in the Saddle

I have been sick since the middle of the night Wednesday night; slept all day yesterday and never blogged. Came back to work to a handful of phone messages and 30+ emails. Have been trying to leave early to stitch up for the trip to Akron, and the "Twisted Nightmare" Con, tomorrow. So a short entry today, but for all those eagerly awaiting the next pages from AMONG US, here they are.

And I hope to weigh in on "Twisted Nightmare" on Monday, if I get there and back in one piece.

Yell at me at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.



DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. HIGHWAY -- DAY
Scenic countryside goes by outside of Billy's SUV's passenger-side window. Soon the camera pans to show what is going on inside: Billy driving, his cameraman Ray in the passenger seat, with Wayne and Jennifer squeezed into the back. Jennifer addresses the camera.
JENNIFER
Well, we are on our way to the site of the major motion picture "Cornhole Cabin 12."
BILLY
Would have been. I dropped out of the project.
JENNIFER
(now more serious)
Really? What happened?
BILLY
I mean, all this happened. I'm doing this now.
Jennifer nods.
JENNIFER
Well, that's cool.
BILLY
I mean, I could have used the money for start-up costs on this project. But like I said, it's hard to join a franchise so late in the game. A lot of the characterization is already fixed.
JENNIFER
So they got another guy, huh?
BILLY
And another cabin.
JENNIFER
So it's like they say. If you build it...Someone will get cornholed in it.
Billy's teeth are on edge.
BILLY
Well, it was nice of the guy to go ahead and loan us the cabin anyway. One problem though. He was expecting a blow job. It's kind of a standard porno thing. Now Wayne said he would help out in a pinch, but...
Jennifer kicks the back of his chair.
BILLY (CONT'D)
What about just a hand job then?
(beat)
Anybody?
Wayne looks uneasy.
WAYNE
Could one of you guys please turn on the radio?
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. RURAL ROAD -- DAY
Billy is irritated, changing a flat, while Jennifer and Wayne look on.
JENNIFER
If this was a novel, it might be called "foreshadowing."
BILLY
I don't read books.
JENNIFER
You should try it sometime.
BILLY
If God wanted people to read books, he wouldn't have invented movies.
Jennifer looks off into the trees by the side of the road. Wayne observes her.
JENNIFER
Those woods seem quiet...too quiet. As if something's watching.
Wayne seems to stagger, as if ill. Jennifer turns to him.
JENNIFER (CONT'D)
That's what they always say in the movies, right?
(beat)
You okay, Wayne?
WAYNE
Just a little carsick, that's all.
JENNIFER
Drink some water, that'll make you feel better.
BILLY (O.S.)
Don't drink anything, we aren't stopping again!
Jennifer rolls her eyes as Wayne blanches.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. CABIN -- AFTERNOON
Billy drives up in his SUV and parks. He gets out and looks around, scanning the treeline. Soon Wayne and Jennifer join him.
Billy drives up in his SUV and parks. He gets out and looks around, scanning the treeline. Soon Wayne and Jennifer join him.
BILLY
Okay, well, let's get the gear.
Jennifer and Wayne grab their bags and start heading for the cabin, checking out their surroundings.
Feature Billy at the back hatch of the SUV, carefully going through his video equipment. He addresses the camera.
BILLY (CONT'D)
This is my favorite part. Setting up the shoot. When I was a kid, I took a Cap'n Crunch box and a couple of toilet paper tubes and made my own film camera. The other kids thought it was some kind of machine gun. But I knew. I was running around, when everyone was playing cops and robbers, I was playing Alfred Hitchcock. When it was cowboys and Indians, I was John Ford. Not that I exactly knew who those guys were, it was more, you know, in spirit.